Power of Attorney Requirements in Illinois

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Financial POAs are governed by the Illinois Power of Attorney Act, 755 ILCS 45 — Article II supplies the general rules for every agency, and Article III, the "Statutory Short Form Power of Attorney for Property Law," supplies the property form and its execution rules. Illinois has not adopted the Uniform Power of Attorney Act; this is the state's own scheme, dating to 1987 and amended regularly since (most recently by Public Act 103-994, effective January 1, 2025, which revised the acceptance-and-refusal rules). Ill. Pub. Act 104-0609, § 5 changes two refusal grounds on January 1, 2027, but does not change how a property power of attorney is signed, witnessed, or acknowledged.

Section 5. The Illinois Power of Attorney Act is amended by changing Section 2-8 as follows:

Who must sign

The principal. The statutory form's mandatory notice tells the signer: "You are not required to sign this Power of Attorney, but it will not take effect without your signature" (755 ILCS 45/3-3(c)). The form's execution block calls for the principal's dated signature, made in the presence of both the witness and the notary.

Notarization

Required. Every property POA must "indicate that the principal has acknowledged his or her signature before a notary public" (755 ILCS 45/3-3(b)). On the statutory form, the notary certifies: "The undersigned, a notary public in and for the above county and state, certifies that ......................., known to me to be the same person whose name is subscribed as principal to the foregoing power of attorney, appeared before me and the witness(es) ............. (and ..............) in person and acknowledged signing and delivering the instrument as the free and voluntary act of the principal, for the uses and purposes therein set forth (, and certified to the correctness of the signature(s) of the agent(s))." (755 ILCS 45/3-3(d)).

Witnesses

At least one witness must sign — a requirement that "applies only to instruments executed on or after June 9, 2000" (755 ILCS 45/3-3(f)); older documents are judged by the earlier law. Section 3-3(d) supplies the separate- witness rule and the disqualified-witness list discussed below.

Statutory form

Yes. The "statutory property power" consists of three parts: a Notice to the Individual Signing (on a separate coversheet in 14-point type), the Illinois Statutory Short Form Power of Attorney for Property itself, and a Notice to Agent (755 ILCS 45/3-3(a)). Substantial compliance is enough, and formatting slips — notice not on a separate sheet, missing initials — do not defeat it if the explanatory NOTE language is set off from the operative text (755 ILCS 45/3-3(b)). Using some "other or different form" remains lawful if it meets the nonstatutory requirements in section 3-3(b).

Durable by default?

Yes. "Unless the agency states an earlier termination date, the agency continues until the death of the principal, notwithstanding any lapse of time, the principal's disability or incapacity or appointment of a guardian for the principal after the agency is signed" (755 ILCS 45/2-5), and the agent's acts during any period of disability bind the principal as if competent (755 ILCS 45/2-6). No durability wording is needed.

Springing POA allowed?

Yes. "The principal may specify in the agency the event or time when the agency will begin and terminate" (755 ILCS 45/2-4(a)). Paragraph 6 of the statutory form implements this: "This power of attorney shall become effective on", with the instruction: "Insert a future date or event during your lifetime, such as a court determination of your disability or a written determination by your physician that you are incapacitated, when you want this power to first take effect." (755 ILCS 45/3-3(d)). The Act also defines when a principal counts as incapacitated — including a physician's signed written determination delivered to the agent, on which the agent may conclusively rely (755 ILCS 45/2-3(c-5)).

Real estate extras

Recording is required for land transactions: "Deeds, mortgages, powers of attorney, and other instruments relating to or affecting the title to real estate in this state, shall be recorded in the county in which such real estate is situated" (765 ILCS 5/28). The officers who may take an acknowledgment of a POA "relating to the sale, conveyance or other disposition of real estate" — in-state, out-of-state, and abroad — are listed in 765 ILCS 5/20.

Out-of-state POAs

The Act "governs every agency, whenever and wherever executed" and "applies to all agencies exercised in Illinois" (755 ILCS 45/2-4(b)). In practice, reliance rules do substantial work: any person dealing with an agent "may presume, in the absence of actual knowledge to the contrary, that the document purporting to establish the agency was validly executed" (755 ILCS 45/2-8(c)).

What trips people up

• Using the notary as the witness. Illinois needs a notary plus a separate qualified witness; "the notary may not also sign as a witness" (755 ILCS 45/3-3(d)).
• Family-member witnesses. Parents, siblings, descendants — and their spouses — of the principal or of any agent are disqualified, along with the agent and health-care providers (755 ILCS 45/3-3(d)). Pick an unrelated adult.
• Forgetting the Notice coversheet. The statutory package is three documents: the 14-point-type notice the principal initials, the form, and the Notice to Agent (755 ILCS 45/3-3(a)). Formatting slips are forgiven; omitting the pieces entirely invites disputes.
• Failure to strike unwanted powers. On the form, every category you do not draw a line through is granted (755 ILCS 45/3-3(d)).
• Real estate needs recording. Instruments affecting title — including the POA — "shall be recorded" in the county where the land is (765 ILCS 5/28). Title companies will ask for a recordable original.
• Bank-refusal rules change in 2027. Public Act 104-0609, § 5 makes items (2) and (11) of section 2-8(f) "(blank)" on January 1, 2027. Those items currently allow refusal when the agent will not provide an attorney-, court-, or government-certified copy or the principal's attorney will not certify validity. The change does not alter execution formalities.

Common questions

Does a bank need the original? Not necessarily. A person may rely in good faith on a copy, and may request the agent's Certification and Acceptance of Authority; refusing a copy accompanied by that certification is deemed unreasonable for statutory short form POAs (755 ILCS 45/2-8).

Does signing a new power of attorney revoke an older one? Not by itself. Section 2-5 says the later document must state that the earlier power, or all other powers, is revoked.

Does Public Act 104-0609 require a new form? No. It changes two grounds for third-party refusal on January 1, 2027, not the signature, witness, notarization, durability, or commencement rules.

Statutes and sources

The current-law quotations are from the Illinois Compiled Statutes published by the Illinois General Assembly, accessed 2026-08-03. The future Public Act is dated separately below.

• 755 ILCS 45/3-3 — the statutory property power: three-part form, execution requirements for nonstatutory powers, witness disqualifications, notary/witness rules, and the June 9, 2000 witness effective date. Quoted above. View official text (ilga.gov)
• 755 ILCS 45/2-4 — the principal may set when the agency begins; applicability of the Act. Quoted above. View official text (ilga.gov)
• 755 ILCS 45/2-5 — duration until death notwithstanding disability, incapacity, or guardianship. Quoted above. View official text (ilga.gov)
• 755 ILCS 45/2-6 — effect of the agent's acts during the principal's disability. Quoted above. View official text (ilga.gov)
• 755 ILCS 45/2-8 — reliance on copies, the agent's certification, and presumptions of valid execution. Quoted above. View official text (ilga.gov)
• 765 ILCS 5/28 — recording of powers of attorney affecting real estate title in the county where the land is situated. Quoted above. View official text (ilga.gov)

• 765 ILCS 5/20 — officers before whom a POA relating to real estate may be acknowledged. Quoted above. View official text (ilga.gov)

• Ill. Pub. Act 104-0609, § 5 — makes section 2-8(f)(2) and (11) blank, effective January 1, 2027. Quoted above. Illinois General Assembly (accessed 2026-09-09)